The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dick Merriwell's Backers, by Burt L. Standish This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: Dick Merriwell's Backers Or, Well Worth Fighting For Author: Burt L. Standish Release Date: August 14, 2020 [EBook #62930] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICK MERRIWELL'S BACKERS *** Produced by Richard Tonsing, David Edwards, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net Dick Merriwell’s Backers OR, WELL WORTH FIGHTING FOR BY BURT L. STANDISH Author of the famous Merriwell Stories. STREET & SMITH CORPORATION PUBLISHERS 79–89 Seventh Avenue, New York Copyright, 1907 By STREET & SMITH Dick Merriwell’s Backers (Printed in the U. S. A.) All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. LACK OF CONFIDENCE. CHAPTER II. A HEART-BREAKING FINISH. CHAPTER III. A SURPRISE FOR DICK. CHAPTER IV. A HEARTY WELCOME. CHAPTER V. THE DINNER. CHAPTER VI. THE BLACKMAILER. CHAPTER VII. BEHIND THE PALMS. CHAPTER VIII. HUSH MONEY. CHAPTER IX. ARLINGTON TAKES A HAND. CHAPTER X. A HOT OPENING. CHAPTER XI. CAUGHT WITH THE GOODS. CHAPTER XII. RETURNING THE MONEY. CHAPTER XIII. JEALOUSY. CHAPTER XIV. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF. CHAPTER XV. THE ABANDONED CAPTIVE. CHAPTER XVI. AN EVIL BAND. CHAPTER XVII. TUCKER GETS WARMED. CHAPTER XVIII. THE FIRE. CHAPTER XIX. THE NEXT MORNING. CHAPTER XX. A PAIR OF RASCALS. CHAPTER XXI. FURTHER PLOTTING. CHAPTER XXII. A CERTAIN VISITOR. CHAPTER XXIII. THE CONSOLER. CHAPTER XXIV. SOMETHING DOING. CHAPTER XXV. REFUGE IN THE RIVER. CHAPTER XXVI. WHAT HAPPENED TO BRAD. CHAPTER XXVII. FROM THE BAR Z RANCH. CHAPTER XXVIII. A PITCHER NEEDED. CHAPTER XXIX. DICK ACCEPTS A CHALLENGE. CHAPTER XXX. THE FRESHMAN PITCHER. CHAPTER XXXI. THE GREAT REBELLION. CHAPTER XXXII. CUT DOWN. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE RED STAIN. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE UNSEEN SHADOW. CHAPTER XXXV. AN APPARITION. CHAPTER XXXVI. A TERRIFIED TRIO. CHAPTER XXXVII. PANGS OF CONSCIENCE. CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE ESCAPE. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE GHOSTLY FACE. CHAPTER XL. A QUEER DELUSION. CHAPTER XLI. SILVER BULLETS. CHAPTER XLII. BAD NEWS. CHAPTER XLIII. THE SILVER BULLETS. CHAPTER XLIV. LYNCH CONFESSES. CHAPTER XLV. MIKE PUTS IT ON PAPER. CHAPTER XLVI. TURNING A NEW LEAF. CHAPTER XLVII. A BITTER DOSE. CHAPTER XLVIII. WAS HE SINCERE? CHAPTER XLIX. A WASTED WARNING. CHAPTER L. WOLFE HAS AN IDEA. CHAPTER LI. THE HOLDUP. CHAPTER LII. ROUTING THE RUFFIANS. CHAPTER LIII. THE ODDS AGAINST YALE. CHAPTER LIV. MANHATTAN IN THE LEAD. CHAPTER LV. A BEAUTIFUL BINGLE. DICK MERRIWELL’S BACKERS. CHAPTER I. LACK OF CONFIDENCE. At the beginning of the sixth inning, Sam Kates went into the box against the Tufts freshmen. The score then stood seven to one, in favor of Yale Umpty-ten. Tufts had shown no ability to connect with Dick Merriwell’s shoots and benders. This was the opportunity to give Sam a good try-out, and so, at Dick’s suggestion, he changed places with Kates, who had been playing first. At the opening of the game, Tufts had professed a hilarious confidence in its ability to hit Merriwell, but within a short time this confidence oozed away, and the game was proving tiresomely one-sided and monotonous when Yale changed pitchers. Immediately Tufts braced up and took heart. Kates was nervous, and the visitors seemed to know it. They whooped and barked joyously as the first man to face Sam lined out a sizzling two-bagger. “Never mind that, Kates,” came reassuringly from Dick. “Those things will happen occasionally. They can’t all do it.” Nevertheless Kates realized that he was trying to fill the position just vacated by one vastly his superior, and he also knew the Yale men who had been cheering lustily in the stand were aware of the same fact. This placed him at a disadvantage, for he was extremely anxious, and a pitcher who gets anxious in the box is almost sure to be an easy mark for the opposing batters. Kates, under the manly influence of Dick Merriwell, had broken away from former undesirable associations and was now putting forth his best efforts to redeem his past mistakes. The following Tufts man pounded a long fly into the outfield. The ball was caught, but the runner on second advanced to third after the catch. “It’s all right,” again assured Dick. “They haven’t scored, Sam.” But, unfortunately, the team had even less confidence in Kates than he had in himself. Therefore, they were likewise anxious, and this anxiety caused Claxton, at second, to let a warm grounder get through him. The little band of Tufts rooters yelled wildly as another tally was chalked down for their side. “Keep after him! keep after him!” whooped a coacher, as the next batter pranced out to the pan. “Got him going!” “We’ll put the blanket on him in a minute,” came from the other coacher. “Knock his eye out, Tompkins!” Tompkins responded by slamming a hot one into right field, where Bouncer Bigelow fell all over himself, and lost the ball until another run had been credited to the visitors and Tompkins had third safely within his clutch. “Not your fault, Kates,” said Dick, as the wretched pitcher cast him an appealing glance. “Nobody can blame you.” Blessed Jones, captain of the team, rushed part way in from left field and called to his players to steady down. On the bench Robinson, the manager, was fidgeting ponderously, and muttering to himself that Merriwell would have to go back on the slab. Dick walked out into the diamond, and many thought that he was going to change places with Kates once more. Instead of doing so, he placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder and spoke to him in low tones. “Don’t get worried now because of those errors behind you. They’ve made one clean hit off you, and that’s all. This sort of a thing is likely to happen to any one. It might have happened to me.” “But I don’t believe it,” muttered Kates. “They won’t back me up, Merriwell, old man.” “They’ll learn to back you up before the season’s over.” “Not if I throw away the first game in which I’m given a chance to pitch.” “But you’re not throwing it away. Don’t look round, Kates. That fellow on third is going to try to steal home. He thinks neither of us sees him. He’s edging off. Now—nail him!” Kates whirled like a flash, and found the runner well off third, balanced on his toes, and ready to make a sprint for the plate. With a snap Sam sent the ball to Otis Fitch, who had covered the sack behind the runner’s back. Nipped just in time, the Tufts man tried to plunge headlong back to third, but Fitch clutched the ball and nailed it onto him. “You’re out!” shouted the umpire. This piece of work caused the Yale men to cheer, while the Tufts lad who had been caught in his own attempt to work a bit of craft walked in to the bench shaking his hanging head. “Rotten! rotten!” snapped one of the coachers. “Why don’t you keep your eyes open? Why don’t you do your sleeping nights? You can’t afford to get dopy on bases.” “But everybody hits! everybody hits!” came from the coacher at the other side of the field. “We’ll keep right on. We’ll 5 6 7 8 pound him off the rubber just the same.” But, somehow, Sam’s nervousness had disappeared beneath the effect of Merriwell’s touch and words. Having caught the runner in this manner, Kates grew cool and collected, and the next man up promptly bit at two twisters that he did not touch. “Now you’re pitching, old fellow,” laughed Dick. “The poor boy can’t see the ball. He’s yours, Sam—he’s yours. Eat him up!” Kates had a huge drop, and this was the next ball he used. As he delivered it, however, he pretended it had slipped from his fingers, and he yelled for Buckhart to “look out.” The batter thought the ball too high, and made no move to swing. The sphere shot down in an astonishing manner and crossed the batter’s chest. “Three strikes—out!” announced the umpire. The deceived hitter stood as if dazed for a moment, and then savagely hurled his bat to the ground. Once more the Yale stand cheered, and Merriwell walked in to the bench with Kates, congratulating him with sincere pleasure. “You’ve got to do your best work to-day, Sam,” said Dick. “You’ve got to prove yourself. I need you. Toleman won’t come out. He’s still sulking. I can’t do all the pitching. The games are coming too thick.” “It wasn’t wholly my fault, was it, Merriwell?” asked Kates. “Certainly not. Still, you’d better not kick about your support, for that gets the fellows sore. They know what they did, and they feel as rotten about it as any one can. You’ll hold Tufts down after this.” “But if you see they’re going to win the game, Dick, you must go onto the slab again. You’ll do this, won’t you?” “If you don’t get the idea into your head that it’s necessary, I believe I won’t have to pitch another ball to-day.” “But if it is necessary——” “Oh, I won’t see them win the game if I can help it, you may be sure of that.” The Tufts pitcher, who had improved as the game advanced, now seemed to be at his best, and Yale could do little with his delivery. Not until the first of the eighth did anything more of a sensational nature occur. In the eighth Tufts got a batter to first by an error, and then Kates had the misfortune to hit the next man. The third batter lifted a long fly into center field, where Spratt made a disgraceful muff and lost sight of the ball. While Jack was spluttering to himself and pawing around wildly in the grass, all three of the Tufts men romped over the sacks and raced across the pan. There was now great excitement, for Tufts needed only one more run to tie the game. Kates gave Dick a questioning look. “No fault of yours,” came once more from Merriwell. “But they won’t support me, they won’t support me!” muttered Sam, in a disheartened manner. The uproar was so great that Dick could not hear these words, although he read them plainly by the movement of Sam’s lips. Again he trotted out into the diamond, and once more the spectators fancied it was his intention to resume pitching. “Don’t you quit, Kates,” was what he said. “If you do, they’ll never give you any backing. Pitch as if your life depended on it, but keep cool—keep cool and use your head.” There was an audible groan as Dick was seen returning to first. The next Tufts man batted a slow grounder at Tucker, who juggled the ball a moment and then made a disgustingly bad throw to first. Dick was forced to leave the sack and leap into the air to get the ball, and the hitter crossed the hassock in safety. With no one out, Tufts’ prospects of tying the score were bright indeed. “Look out for a bunt, Sam,” warned Dick, who believed the visitors would try to sacrifice. The infielders crept in toward the plate, and poised themselves on their toes, every muscle taut. The intention of the enemy had not been miscalculated. The bunt came, and the runner on first reached second while Kates got the ball and “killed” the batter at first. But now a fine single properly placed would be almost sure to give the enemy the coveted run to make the score a tie. More than that, the next hitter was one of the cleverest batsmen on the visiting team. Kates used all his art and skill on the man, but finally the fellow smashed the ball, driving it on a line toward right field. Dick was playing ten or twelve feet into the diamond. He made an electrified leap, shot out his right hand, and pulled the liner down. The moment his feet touched the ground he was ready to throw to second, but he made sure that Claxton would get the ball. The runner on second had started for third, but he stopped and nearly broke himself in two in an effort to get back. He was a second too late, and the double play put something of a dampener on Tufts’ elation. Kates heaved a great sigh of relief, and something like a sickly smile of joy passed over his face. This was what he needed to put him once more at his best, for he struck out the man who followed. 9 10 CHAPTER II. A HEART-BREAKING FINISH. But Kates’ troubles were not over. Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick. Some one yelled for Merriwell. Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick. “If we pull him out,” Dick thought, “he’ll have no further backbone for pitching.” Jones started in from the field. Divining the intention of Blessed, Dick hurriedly waved him back. Buckhart looked disgusted, and shook his head. “Reckon my pard wants to throw this game away,” he muttered to himself. “We’ll lose it if we let Kates stay on the rubber.” But Kates stayed. Aware that Dick still had confidence in him, Sam forced the following Tufts man to put up an easy infield fly, which was captured by Tucker. “All we want is a clean hit, Stroud!” cried a Tufts coacher. “You’re the boy to do it!” Stroud was a dangerous man with the stick, and the spectators hung poised on a point of painful suspense. Four times Stroud fouled. Then Sam twisted one round his neck, and he missed cleanly. “That’s the way! that’s the way!” laughed Dick. “Now it’s all right! That lively lad will pass away on second.” With two strikes and only one ball called by the umpire, it began to seem as if Kates would mow down the last Tufts batter. But the fellow picked out a corner-cutter and raised it far into left field. “All over!” shouted some one. “Jonesy has it.” Jonesy thought he had it, but as the ball settled it took one of those exasperating curves which are troublesome to handle, and Blessed merely touched it with the fingers of one upthrust hand. Before the dismayed Yale captain could get the ball back into the diamond the score was tied, and Tufts had another runner on third. “We’ve got this game—we’ve got it!” barked a coacher. “They’ll never get away from us now!” “Everybody knew what would happen,” cried a voice. “The game was lost when they changed pitchers.” Strangely enough, Kates was no longer downcast and lacking in confidence. He told himself that any person with good baseball judgment must know he was not responsible for what had happened. He did not cast any further questioning looks toward first, but placed himself on the rubber, ready to pitch at his best as long as they would let him remain there. His best proved good enough to fan the next Tufts man, and Yale came to bat in the last of the ninth with the tally tied. “We’ll do ’em up in the next inning,” announced the Tufts captain, who seemed confident that there would be an extra inning. It quickly began to look as if there would be such an inning, for the first two Yale batters went out, one on a fly and the other on an easy grounder into the diamond. Then came a bad error for Tufts. Spratt, who batted ahead of Kates, bumped a bounder toward third, and reached first on an infielder’s fumble. For an instant Kates seemed benumbed as he realized he was the next person to hit. A strange silence had settled over the field, and Sam fancied he could feel the eyes of every spectator fixed upon him as he stepped out, bat in hand. As if from a great distance he seemed to hear some one say: “Perhaps he’ll win his own game.” “If he only could!” said another; but there was only doubt in the words and the voice. Kates glanced toward Spratt, and a signal told him that the desperate fellow on first would try to steal. To assist Jack, Sam swung wildly at the first ball pitched, although he was careful not to hit it. Spratt’s thin legs carried him down the line to second with deceptive speed, and a beautiful slide landed him safely on the sack a second before he was tagged. “Safe!” shouted the umpire. Spratt leaped up, dusting his clothes and grinning. “You’re dud-dud-dreadfully slow,” he observed mockingly to the second baseman. “Oh, never mind,” was the retort. “You won’t go any farther.” “Th-think so?” said Jack. “Know so.” “Bub-bub-bet you on it. Kates is gug-going to biff it.” Sam heard those words. Here, at least, seemed to be one person besides Merriwell who had confidence in him. “I will biff it!” he decided. He made good in a way that brought the Yale men up standing. Bat and ball cracked together, and the ball was laced into the field halfway between right and center. 11 12 13 Tucker, on the coaching line near third, waved his arms frantically and shrieked until he was purple in the face as Spratt came straddling on. Jack’s teeth were gleaming, his hands clenched, and his eyes bulging out of his head. As he crossed third the breath whistled from his nostrils with a sound that reminded one of a racehorse coming under the wire. A fielder had the ball. He whipped it to the second baseman. The second baseman turned and lined it to the catcher. “Slide!” shrieked Tucker and many others. Spratt flung himself headlong, as if making a dive. Along the ground he scooted in a manner that seemed to proclaim the dry soil greased at that particular point. Plunk!—the ball landed in the catcher’s mitt. Down he ducked and planted it between Spratt’s shoulders. But Jack had both hands on the plate, and the umpire yelled: “Safe!” To Dick Merriwell’s unspeakable satisfaction, Sam Kates had really won his own game. 14 CHAPTER III. A SURPRISE FOR DICK. In the dressing room there was a jabber of youthful voices as the players got into their street clothes. Kates was feeling pretty well, for the fellows who had made errors behind him, one and all, had come forward and offered congratulations over his work, at the same time blaming themselves for repeatedly putting him into a bad hole. Casper Steele, in a motoring suit, appeared and expressed his appreciation of the hair-lifting game he had witnessed. “I was really losing interest when you went out of the box, Merriwell, old man!” laughed Casper. “That finish was a heart-breaker, though. How long before you and your friends will be ready to start for Meadwold?” “On my word,” said Dick, “I’d forgotten about your invitation.” “But you can go?” questioned Steele anxiously. “You said you’d let me know if you couldn’t get away, and I haven’t heard a word from you.” “It’s all right, I can go.” “How about Claxton and Buckhart?” “They will come along. It’s all fixed.” “Good! A day off to-morrow will be to the benefit of all of you.” “How about Tucker?” asked Dick, in a low tone. “I don’t like to go away and leave him to himself for even a day. I’ve taken the liberty of asking him if he’ll join us, providing you don’t object.” “Now, look here, old man,” said Steele, “didn’t I tell you this was to be your party? Didn’t I tell you to invite any one you wished?” “Yes, but——” “I meant it. It’s to be a little housewarming, you know. The gov’nor will have a party of his own down there next week. Just now he has some sort of a business deal on that is keeping him mighty busy. I have my car here, and I’ll take you and your chosen friends to pick up your dunnage. It’s forty miles to Meadwold, and it will be dark before we get there, anyhow.” “It was mighty fine of you to plan this little outing, Steele,” said Dick. “Well, I hope you and your friends enjoy yourselves, and I think you will.” Meadwold was the name given to a large country estate purchased the previous year by Peyton Steele, Casper’s father. Steele was a man who loved the country and country life, and it was his intention to make this newly acquired property an ideal summer home for his occupancy. The old farm buildings had been renovated and enlarged. Broad verandas had been built. A fine stable was put up, and the place was stocked with blooded horses and choice cattle. A complete corps of servants had been installed at Meadwold, and everything was ready for the housewarming. Blessed Jones had been invited to become one of the party, but had solemnly expressed it as his duty to remain in town and look after those ball players who needed watching. He now came up, with a sad and doleful expression on his face. “Methinks thou wilt have a high old time, brothers,” he said. “But look here, Steele, you want to remember that these fellows are under training-table regulations. Don’t gorge them with ice cream and cake and such disastrous delicacies.” “Leave that to me,” said Dick. “We’ll behave, Jones. Don’t be afraid. Too bad you don’t feel that you ought to come.” “It is too bad,” nodded Steele. “I’d enjoy having you.” “Without doubt,” said Blessed. “I would add immensely to the gayety of the aggregation. I’m generally about as funny as a funeral.” Tucker was pleased when he learned beyond doubt that he was to be one of the party. Steele took them in his car, and soon they were at the curb in front of the lodging house on York Street. “I’ll get my things and come back here,” said Rob Claxton, as he sprang from the car. Thirty minutes later the big touring car was bearing them out of the city. “It’ll certainly be fine to get out into the country, where we can gambol with the little lambkins,” laughed Tucker. “I need it. My! but wasn’t that a lovely throw I made to you, Dick? I had a spasm when I realized what I’d done. Didn’t think you’d ever touch it, but you raked her in with one paw. Say, how long is your arm? I swear you reached eleven feet into the air for that ball!” “Please don’t talk about errors, suh,” entreated Claxton. “I’d like to forget that awful mess I made.” “Kates sure pitched a good game,” observed Buckhart. “But there was one time I thought he had gone to the bowwows.” “That game reminds me of the last one I played in before coming to college,” said Tucker. “The finish was just about as sensational. We had the other fellows going up to the seventh inning, when they got after our pitcher and bumped him. In the ninth inning they needed one run to tie, and two to win, and they had the bases filled. It was their last turn to bat, and two men were out. I was playing center field. Up came the heaviest batter on their team, and he slammed a long fly out into my garden. The ground out there was awfully soft in spots, and when I started for that fly one of my feet got stuck in a hole so that I couldn’t pull it out to save my neck. There was the ball coming down just about six feet beyond my reach, and me held fast by one hoof. I tell you it was awful. Perspiration literally started out on my face in drops as big as gooseberries. 15 16 17 18 But I got the ball.” “How did you do it, suh?” asked Claxton curiously. “Why, you see, I just stooped down, cut my shoe laces, pulled my foot out of my shoe, made a lunge, and grabbed the ball.” “Remarkable!” breathed Rob. “Cut your shoe laces, did you?” “Yep.” “Do you usually carry a knife around in your baseball suit?” “Oh, no,” confessed Tommy, looking a bit confused. “I didn’t cut my laces with a knife.” “What did you cut them with, if you don’t mind telling?” “With a blade of grass, of course,” snorted Tucker. Merriwell, Buckhart, and Steele laughed, and, after a moment, Claxton joined in. “That’ll about do for you, Tommy,” said Dick. “Don’t tell us any more such wonderful yarns. We can’t quite digest them.” New Haven was now left behind, and the car was humming smoothly over the road. The boys had brought along their heavy coats, and, therefore, were quite comfortable, although it was growing cool as the sun sank in the west. A beautiful sunset filled them all with admiration and delight. The ride in that big, easy car was calculated to soothe their overstrained nerves after the excitement of the game. “Strange,” said Claxton, “I didn’t see Miss Ditson or Miss Midhurst at the game. They usually attend. Were they there, Dick?” “I didn’t see them myself,” confessed Merriwell. “Nor I,” said Buckhart. “I reckon they were not there.” No one observed the faint smile that flitted across the face of Casper Steele as he bent over the steering wheel. “I fancy you’re right,” he said. “I looked around at the crowd in the stand, and I saw nothing of those girls.” The sun had vanished, and purple shadows were spreading in the east. They stopped to light the lamps, and then bowled on again. Night enfolded them softly, and the bright glare of the lamps grew more and more effective as the darkness increased. “We’re getting near Meadwold,” Steele finally announced. A few moments later they swung in at a gate with high stone posts, and followed a private road that wound between long lines of gnarled old trees. “We’ll see the lights in a minute,” said Casper. Surmounting a little rise, they beheld before them the gleam of many lights, and Steele told them that was Meadwold. “Gee whiz!” piped Tucker. “They’ve certainly illuminated gorgeously for our arrival.” “I have a party of friends there who are expecting us,” was Casper’s surprising announcement. He now pressed the pedal, and the Gabriel horn sang sweetly through the spring night. “That will tell them we’re coming,” he laughed. “They’ll be on the veranda to welcome us.” And now the boys discovered that the veranda and the trees in the immediate vicinity of the house were hung with hundreds of Japanese lanterns. As they swung up the fine road to the front of the house they heard a chorus of youthful voices, and forth from the wide front door came swarming a merry band of boys and girls. There were fully thirty of them, and they crowded to the steps, waving their handkerchiefs and laughingly crying welcome. “Great horn spoon!” muttered Brad Buckhart. “What are we up against?” But Dick was speechless, for there, in the mellow light of the many lanterns, standing in front of all the others, her hands outstretched to him, was the one girl he knew best in all the world—June Arlington! 19 20 CHAPTER IV. A HEARTY WELCOME. “Welcome, welcome to Meadwold!” cried the merry voices. Dick’s eyes swam in a happy, wondering mist. At that moment he feared it was all a dream from which he would quickly awaken. This vision of June—June, radiant and flushed, and more beautiful than ever—could not be other than a dream. “Dick—Dick, don’t you know me? Dick, aren’t you glad to see me?” It was her voice. He would have known it had it reached his ears in the heart of darkest Africa. This was no dream; it was a grand, joyous reality. The next instant he was on the steps, both her warm hands clasped in his. “June, June!” he murmured ecstatically. “June, is it possible? Can it be I’m really awake and this is you?” “Kiss her! kiss her! kiss her!” shouted a chorus of voices. June, red as a fresh-blown peony, her voice trembling with excitement, her eyes gleaming like twin stars, answered his questions. “Of course it is I, and, of course, you’re wide awake.” “No, he isn’t,” piped another voice, that sounded strangely familiar. “If he was wide awake, he would never pass up an opportunity like that.” “How is it possible that I find you here?” asked Dick. “Chester will explain.” “Chester——” “Present,” laughed a bronzed youth, stepping quickly down and placing an affectionate hand on Dick’s shoulder. “How are you, Merriwell, old man? On my soul, I’m quivering with delight over seeing you again. Give us a grip at that man’s hand of yours.” This was June’s brother, who wrung Dick’s hand with all the hearty regard and affection of his soul. “My head is humming,” laughed the bewildered boy. “I thought you were in Wellsburg, June; and you, Chester—I thought you somewhere away out in the wild and woolly.” “I’ve shed my chaps, had my hair cut, hung up the riata, and come back to civilization,” said Arlington. “But I don’t suppose we ought to monopolize him, June. He has other friends who are anxious to get at him.” While June and Chet turned to Brad Buckhart, Dick shook hands with Jack Randall, of Harvard. “Quite a lively little party this of yours,” smiled the handsome Harvard man. “Mine?” said Dick. “Why, Steele got up this party.” “But we all understand it’s for your benefit and entertainment. Here are Barbara and Mabel.” And now Dick understood why he had not seen Bab Midhurst and Mabel Ditson at the baseball game that afternoon. “It’s a conspiracy!” he cried. “I have been deceived, and I’m glad of it.” “I brought another friend of yours along with me,” said Randall. “Where is he? He should have been among the first to attack you.” “Like the modest, shrinking little violet that I am,” said the voice that had declared Dick was not wide awake when he shook hands with June, “I am content to bloom low amid the other gorgeous flowers of this fair garden. Therefore, I am easily overlooked. Hello, Dick! Give us the high wigwag.” “Dale Sparkfair, you handsome rascal!” cried Merriwell, getting a good hold on the speaker’s hand. Sparkfair it was, jolly, jovial, scintillating as ever. “You see, I’m always loth to thrust myself forward, Dick,” said Spark. “I’ve been suppressed and sat on so much since butting into Harvard that my natural timidness and reticence has increased a thousandfold.” “Suppressed? Sat on?” laughed Randall. “If ever there was a freshman who could not be suppressed and sat on, this fresh freshman is the one. Why, he’s had all Cambridge standing on its head the biggest part of the time since he landed there. A dozen times he’s turned the old place over to look at the bottom side of it. He has more friends and enemies to the square yard than any man at Harvard who is not a senior or a big gun in athletics.” “Fie! fie!” remonstrated Dale. “I fear much that you will give people a false impression by the careless trippling of your tongue. Trippling is good. I think I’ll copyright it. I’m great at coining words. That’s about the only kind of coin I can get hold of lately.” Introductions followed, Dick presenting his Yale friends to those friends of his he had unexpectedly found at Meadwold. All were then made acquainted with the young people, youths, and maids who belonged to Casper Steele’s particular set. At the very beginning of these introductions, in a cautious whisper, Sparkfair warned Dick not to exhaust his supply of “hot-air compliments” too quickly, as there were lots of pretty girls in the party, and he would need a liberal supply to go round. Steele had turned the touring car over to his mechanician, who was awaiting the arrival at Meadwold. He now led the way into the renovated house, and the chattering guests flocked after him. 21 22 23 24 Casper’s mother was there, standing just inside the door and smiling on them all. She gave her hand to Dick and his friends as her son presented her. There were also two other middle-aged ladies who were present as chaperons. “I’m very glad to meet Dick Merriwell,” said Mrs. Steele. “You won’t mind if I call you Dick, will you? You see, I’ve heard Casper call you that so often that it’s most natural for me.” “I am genuinely complimented to know that you wish to call me by my Christian name, Mrs. Steele,” he bowed. “You must make yourself at home—you and your friends. I hope you all have a pleasant time at Meadwold.” “That is assured already, madam. I’ve had one of the most delightful surprises of my life.” Steele took Dick, Brad, Rob, and Tommy upstairs to the room they were to occupy. “You see, we’re a bit crowded,” he explained. “There are two beds here and a bath adjoining. I think you’ll be comfortable.” “Comfortable!” said the Texan, looking around. “Great horn spoon, I should say so! Why, this is great for a man who has found comfort sleeping in a blanket, with his boots for his pillow and the ground for his bed.” “Well, I’m certainly glad I came,” said Tucker. “Isn’t it great, boys?” “It reminds me of hospitality in old Virginia, gentlemen,” came from Claxton. “I didn’t suppose they had anything like it in your cold and reserved North.” “Oh, we’re not as cold and reserved as we seem, once you get under our skins,” chuckled Steele. “Take your time to wash up, fellows. Come down when you get ready. I fancy we’ll have dinner very soon now.” “A great chap, that Steele,” murmured Tommy, as the door closed behind Casper. “And to think he didn’t get through college—it’s a shame. But then, he has so much money that he doesn’t need a college education to help him spend it.” “And that’s one of the brightest remarks I ever heard you make, Tucker,” laughed Dick. “Listen!” exclaimed Buckhart. “I sure hear music! On my word, they’ve got an orchestra.” It was true, for the soft strains of an orchestra floated up to their ears from some part of the house. “Steele is certainly doing the thing up brown,” chuckled Tucker. “Go ahead, Dick, and make your ablutions. You’re the one in this bunch who’s most wanted down below. The rest of us won’t be missed if we’re slower in reappearing.” Dick pulled off his coat, rolled back his cuffs, and disappeared into the bathroom. “No flies on this party, eh?” grinned Tucker. “Everybody agreeable and congenial.” Buckhart shrugged his shoulders. “With one exception, possibly,” he muttered, not wishing Dick to hear. “Chester Arlington might have improved the party had he remained away. He was Dick’s bitterest enemy at Fardale, and I can’t easily forget the dirty tricks in which he was concerned. My pard seems to think the fellow has reformed, but I’m far from satisfied on that point. I doubt if any one as rotten as Arlington has been ever wholly reformed. However, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until he shows the cloven hoof again. If he does that, I’ll certain feel like lighting on him all spraddled out. You hear me softly warble!” 25 CHAPTER V. THE DINNER. The dinner was a grand success. Two long tables had been placed end to end, and around these tables gathered the light-hearted guests, skillfully seated in such a way that each youth found a congenial and charming girl at his elbow. Of course, June was at Dick’s side. For the time being, Mrs. Steele and the two elderly ladies had withdrawn, and there was no one present to cast the lightest restraint on the innocent mirth of the gathering. Waiters were numerous, silent, and attentive, and the courses came on in a manner that would have done credit to a first-class hotel. Somewhere in a near-by room the orchestra discoursed appropriate music. Beneath the softened lights the china, cutglass, and silverware gleamed, and the girls, flushed with pleasurable excitement, seemed the fairest to be found in all the land. “Of course, I’m ready to explode with curiosity, June,” said Dick, under cover of the chatter that rose about them. “I suppose you are,” she laughed tantalizingly, giving him a look with those splendid eyes of hers that shot him through with the old-time thrill. “But you don’t seem in any hurry to satisfy that curiosity. Don’t tantalize me, June. How did it happen?” “Your brother brought my brother back with him to Wellsburg when he returned from the West.” “Yes, I know; but Wellsburg is a long distance from Meadwold. It’s mysterious. I didn’t suppose Casper Steele knew you, yet I find you here at his father’s country home.” “My father knows Mr. Payton Steele very well.” “I see a faint ray.” “They have often had business relations. At present father is carrying through a business deal in company with Mr. Steele. To do this he had to come on here, and, when he found he was coming, both Chester and myself begged him to bring us along. That’s the explanation, Dick. We met Casper Steele, and as soon as he found out we were your friends he began to plan this surprise party for you.” “And I never suspected a thing.” From the head of the table Steele laughed at Dick. “I was afraid you might get a suspicion of it,” he said, having caught Merriwell’s words. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to get even with you, old chap,” said Dick. “But perhaps I’ll find a way some time.” Near the foot of the long table sat Mabel Ditson, with Brad Buckhart on her right and Rob Claxton on her left. She was dividing her favors between them, and both seemed satisfied. Her position was a delicate one, and it required art and cleverness to balance her smiles and words so that neither should fancy the other to be the one most favored. Sparkfair was chatting in his airy manner with a beautiful girl by the name of Agnes Locke. Nevertheless, it seemed that he occasionally cast faintly regretful glances in the direction of June and Dick. Jack Randall talked confidentially with Barbara, and, save Dick himself, it was possible no one present knew their exact relations. Suddenly Steele rose to his feet. “A toast!” he proposed. “A toast! a toast!” cried all. Casper lifted a glass. “We’ll drink it in water, the favorite beverage of the one to whom it will be given.” They all rose, each with an uplifted glass of water. There was a hush, and, with a grave smile, Casper turned his eyes on the lad at June Arlington’s side. “Here’s to Dick Merriwell,” he said. “Here’s to his friends and his foes; may his friends never falter in their loyalty, and may his foes soon realize their folly and become his friends.” “Splendid! splendid!” was the cry as they drank the toast. Dick thanked Casper in a clever little speech, his face flushed and his heart warmed by it all. It was Randall who proposed the next toast. “Here’s to Yale,” he bowed; “Yale, Harvard’s beloved rival. May the blue ever flutter high above all other colors save the crimson.” “I’ll have to attach an amendment to that,” laughed Dick. “May the best team win, and, if it does, the blue has no fear of finding itself looking up to the crimson.” “You wait until your freshman baseball team goes against our freshies!” cried Randall. “You know we have a slab wizard by the name of Sparkfair.” “Keep it dark, keep it dark!” came in a hoarse whisper from Dale. “Don’t put the enemy wise. Let him march unsuspecting to the slaughter.” Randall laughed. “I think I’ll have to tell how I happened to bring Spark with me to Meadwold,” he said, as the entire party was again seated. “I can’t bear to have you tell,” objected Dale. 26 27 28 “This reckless young blade,” said Jack, “has injected himself into all sorts of trouble since descending on Cambridge. He seems to enjoy trouble with a keen and fiendish enjoyment. The rackets he has been in would fill a three-volume novel. Repeatedly he has escaped disasters by a hair’s breadth. His last escapade proved rather more serious than the others. He stole a cinnamon bear.” “Tut, tut!” remonstrated Sparkfair. “State the facts, Randall—the bear conceived an overweening affection for me, and insisted on following me like a dog.” “Insisted on following you after you had fed him a two-pound box of chocolates and bon-bons,” said Jack. “It was this way: An Italian organ grinder brought a tame dancing bear into town. The dago did a lively business around Harvard Square, for the bear was really amusing, and the students coughed up their spare coins to see him do his stunts. Some time in mid-afternoon the bear’s master tied him to a tree on Massachusetts Avenue, and went into a restaurant for something to eat. About this time Sparkfair hove upon the horizon and espied bruin. Dale had purchased an extravagant amount of candy for some one of his numerous lady loves. He took a notion to offer the bear a chocolate drop, and bruin keenly appreciated the favor. For some time Spark continued to deal out confectionery to the beast, and with each fresh chocolate or bon-bon the bear’s liking for Dale increased by leaps and bounds. Just how bruin’s chain came unhitched from the tree I’m unable to say. At any rate, when Spark started to depart the cinnamon waddled after him.” “It was a frightful moment,” put in Dale. “Imagine my sensation of horror when I realized that I was being pursued by a real bear. Of course, I wouldn’t have minded so much if it had been one of those Teddy things that they sell at a toy store, but this was the real stuff, with genuine hair on it. It had claws and teeth, too. At first I was tempted to fly for my life, but I didn’t know just how fast that bear could sprint, and, therefore, I was afraid to make a start. In order to appease the monster I opened up my second box of sweets and handed him out a few more chocolates.” “That’s right,” chuckled Randall. “Behold Sparkfair, in your mind, backing down Mt. Auburn Street with the bear sniffing along after him and licking its chops for more chocolates. It seems that Spark has a sophomore friend whom he greatly admires that rooms in Claverly. This sophomore’s name is Coakley. Up to date I believe he and Spark have practiced the manly art of self-defense on each other at least four times. Coakley has lost one of his front teeth, and for a week or so Sparkfair was proudly displaying a beautiful black eye. Well, what do you think Spark did? When he reached Claverly he proceeded to decoy that bear into the building and upstairs to Coakley’s room. It happened that Coakley was out, but his door was unlocked. Spark got the bear inside, and then heartlessly abandoned the poor beast.” “Not until I had fed him the last bon-bon in that two-pound lot,” sighed Spark, with amusing dolefulness. “I know a girl who went hungry for candy that night.” “Coakley returned to his room in the dusk of early evening,” Randall continued. “He walked right in, without anticipating the welcome he was to receive. The bear was asleep on Coakley’s best Turkish rug. I don’t think Coakley saw him. At any rate, he fell over bruin, who rose with a grunt of disapproval. A moment later other fellows in Claverly were horrified by the most fearsome, heart-rending scream of terror that ever smote mortal ears. Coakley yelled murder and made a scramble to get away from the bear. Evidently bruin fancied his friend with the candied delicacies had returned, for he tried to embrace Coakley. As I room in Claverly myself, I happened to see the finish. Coakley ripped open his door and came gasping and tumbling into the hall. A furry figure lumbered after him. Coakley slid downstairs, and the bear imitated his example. Confused and terrified, Coakley made the mistake of dashing into the swimming room. Bruin kept close at his heels until, with a last despairing howl of anguish, Coakley plunged headlong into the tank. The bear sat down on the edge and grinned with pleasure as he watched Coakley splashing and blowing about in the water. I think Coakley was in that tank something like three quarters of an hour before some one brought the bear’s master, who took bruin away. “Unfortunately, some one saw Sparkfair decoying the bear into Claverly. Coakley has sworn vengeance. An investigation is threatened. There is a tinge of blood on the moon in Cambridge. I thought it would be best for Spark to get away for a couple of days, and therefore I’ve inflicted him on this otherwise respectable party.” 29 30 31